Anchor



July 9, 1957 GALLOWAY 2,798,447

ANCHOR Filed July 21, 1954 Fla. 9 Pqrmm' Aim e4 GdHaM/QyINVENTOR.

United States Patent ANCHOR Raymond Alfred Galloway, Baltimore, Md, assignor to Paul H. Griffith, Narberth, Pa.

Application July 21, 1954, Serial No. 444,729

Claims. (Cl. 114-208) This invention relates to improvements in ship anchors, and its principal object is to provide a simple and novel type of anchor suitable for use in large or small vessels, which will attach itself to any type of sea bed and hold fast until released.

Another object of the invention is to provide means for withdrawing the anchor quickly and easily from the sea bed, with a minimum of effort on the part of the user thereof, without sacrificing any of the holding ability of the anchor.

Another object of the invention is to provide an anchor which may be easily and inexpensively manufactured and assembled, and which requires no complex machining operations in its construction.

Another object of the invention is to provide an anchor which automatically folds into a fiat compact shape when withdrawn from the sea bed, and which therefore can be stored in a small space.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the specification proceeds.

In the accompanying drawings which form a part of this application:

Figure l is a side view of the anchor in the position in which it comes to rest on the sea bottom after being released from a ship.

Figure 2 is a side view of the anchor illustrating the method by which the flukes are extended to grip the sea bed.

Figure 3 is again a side view of the anchor showing the position which it assumes when withdrawn from the sea bed to be stored aboard the ship.

Figure 4 is a plan view of the anchor.

Referring now in detail to Figures 1 and 4 of the drawings, the anchor comprises a base member designated by the numeral 1, a bifurcated shank 2, and a fluke member 3, together with a plurality of pivots and joints necessary 1 to assemble the aforementioned three members in cooperable relationship.

The base member 1 contains most of the weight of the anchor, and it is therefore preferably made of a heavy metal or suitable material. It has two slots 4 and 6 each of which is formed in its opposite ends. The shank 2 is provided with a cross-bar 11 which joins the two shank arms 12 and i3, and which fits loosely into the slot 6 in the base member 1 to form a joint which is capable of both rotational and sliding motion. Similarly, the fluke member 3 is provided with a cross-bar 14 which fits loosely into the slot 4 in the base member 1 to form a rotating joint. The fluke member 3 is also joined to the two arms 12 and 13 of the shank 2 by the pivot pins or trunnions 5 and 5' which are integral with flukes 9 and 9, respectively, and which permit rotational motion between the fluke member 3 and the shank 2. The base member 1 is preferably of a weight greater than that of any other part of the anchor for a reason hereinafter indicated.

The shank 2 is provided at its outer end with suitable provision, shown here as the hole 7, so that a rope, cable,

chain, or other anchor line, designated by numeral 10, may be fastened to the shank.

The fluke member 3 contains the sharp flukes 9 and 9 which dig into any sea bed upon which the anchor is cast and hold fast the ship to which the anchor is attached. As will be shown presently, the digging and holding power of the flukes 9 and 9 :is not dependent upon their weight as in more conventional anchors. The flulces need only be made heavy enough to withstand the dragging force of the ship on the anchor line 10. This is a distinct advantage in that a fluke of small crosssection may cut more easily into hard sea bottoms than a large and blunt fluke.

The operation of this anchor is as follows:

When thrown overboard, the anchor comes to rest on the sea bottom in the position shown in Figure 1, with the heavy base member 1 lying flat along the sea bottom 8. As the ship to which the anchor is attached tends to drift away from the anchor, a force is exerted by the anchor line 10 in a forward and upward direction on the outer end of the shank 2. The upward force on the outer end of the shank 2 produces a torque about the joint formed by the cross-bar 11 in the slot 6 of the heavy base member 1, and this torque tends to force the pivot joints 5 and 5' at the inner end of the shank 2 downward. The downward force on pivot joints 5 and 5 produces a small rotation of the fluke member 3 about the joint formed by the cross-bar 14 in the slot 4. This rotation then forces the flukes 9 and 9' into the sea bottom 8.

At the same time, the forward force exerted by the anchor line 10 on the shaft 2 causes the anchor to slide along the sea bottom 8, and this motion causes the fiuke's 9 and 9 to further penetrate the sea bottom 8. The fluke member 3 continues to rotate about the joint formed by the cross-bar 14 in the slot 4, thus carrying the pivot pins 5 and 5' downward and backward in an arc. To permit this motion, the cross-bar 11 rotates and slides in the slot 6 until it reaches the position shown in Figure 2, Where the cross-bar 11 has reached the limit of its travel in slot 6, and the flukes 9 and 9' are fully extended. The anchor then remains in this position, resisting any further forward and upward motion of the anchor line 10.

When it is desired to withdraw the anchor from the sea bottom, a pull on the anchor line 10 draws the ship to which the anchor is attached to a position directly over the anchor. Any further pull on the anchor line 10 then acts in a direction vertically upward from the point at which the anchor line 10 is attached to the shank 2. This force produces a torque about the pivot pins 5 and 5', which pins are now fixed. As a result of this torque, a force is exerted by the cross-bar 11 on the upper side of the slot 6, and this force acts upward and backward in a direction substantially parallel to the long dimension of the flukes 9 and 9' and the fluke member 3. The flukes 9 and 9' are thus urged out of the sea bottom 8 in a direction which provides the least resistance, and the anchor is lifted quickly and easily from the sea bottom.

Once the anchor has cleared the sea bed, the greater Weight of the base member 1 acting on the cross-bar 14 causes the fluke member 3 to turn and line itself up with the base member 1 and the shank 2, and the anchor folds into the flat, compact shape shown in Figure 3. The anchor can then be drawn up close to the side of the ship on which it is to be stowed. This is a distinct advantage in that conventional anchors often have protruding parts which require them to be held with difiiculty at some distance from the hull of the ship while they are being drawn out of the water.

While only the preferred form of the invention has been illustrated in the drawings, it should be understood that various changes or modifications may be made with Patented July 9, 1957.

in the scope of the claims hereto attached without departirig from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as 1. A ship anchor comprising a base member, a fluke member having a plurality of flakes, means pivoting one end of. said base member to'said fluke member, a shank disposed 'on opposite'sides' of said base member, means pivoting'the other end of said base member to' said shank, and means pivoting said shank to said fiukes.

2. A ship anchor comprising'a base member, a fluke member having a plurality of flukes positioned outward- Iy'and laterally of said base member, a shank disposed on' opposite sides of said base member, means pivoting said 'sha'nkt'o said base member providing rotational and limited translational movement of said shank with respect to said base member, means pivoting said fluke member to. said base member and means pivoting said shank to said flukes. a I

3. A ship anchor comprising'a base member, a fluke member having a plurality of flukes straddling one end of said base member, pivot means joining said fluke memher to said base member, a shank having a bifurcated end defining two legs which straddle an opposite end of said basemember, pivot means joining said shank and said base member providing rotational and limited translation- 31 movement of said shank with respect to said base member, and pivot joints connecting each of said legs with said flukes.

4. An anchor comprising an elongated base member, a fluke member having a fluke at each end and straddling one end of said base member, a shank having a bifurcated end defining two legs which straddle an opposite end of said base member, a first cross-bar joining the two flukes on'said fluke member, a second cross-bar joining the two legs of said shank, a first slot located in one end of said pivot joint formed by said firstslot and said first crossbar, a second slot located in an opposite end of said base member which receives said second cross-bar, a second pivot joint formed by said second slot and said second crossbar, said second pivot being capable of a translational movement limited by the length of said second slot, a third pivot joint connecting a first of said legs with a first fluke, and a fourth pivot joint connecting the other of said legs with the other fluke.

5. An anchor comprising an elongated base member, a fluke member pivoted to said base member and having a plurality of flukes straddling one end of said base member, a shank having a bifurcated end defining two legs which straddle an opposite end of said base member, a cross-bar joining the two legs of said shank, said base member having a slot which receives said cross-bar, a pivot joint formed by said slot and said cross-bar, said joint having both rotational and limited translational movement, a pivot joint connecting one of said legs with a first fluke, and a pivot joint connecting the other of said legs with a second fluke, said base member being of a weight greater than the other components of the anchor whereby when the anchor is lifted by means of said shank, the weight of said base member causes said fiukes to fall into alignment with said shank member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNlTED STATES PATENTS 97,342 Barlow Nov. 30, 1869 FOREIGN PATENTS 4,013 Great Britain Mar, 22, 1886 40,960 Norway Feb. 16, 1925 175,751 Great Britain Feb. 20, I922 

